Asia pacific

On Tuesday 160 schoolgirls and teachers were admitted to a hospital after a suspected poisoning at a school in Afghanistan's northern Takhar province -- the third such large-scale attack against female students this year.

The female students, ranging in age from 10 to 20 years old, had been poisoned in their classrooms by a contaminated spray that caused the girls to suffer from vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. The attack occurred at the Ashan Dara Girls School in Talokhan.

A similar attack occurred last week in which over 120 teachers and students were admitted to a local hospital. more >>

Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), met with the director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) on May 10 to discuss the place of the Chinese Evangelical Church within the global Christian community. The meeting in Beijing was the third between the pair and was part of an ongoing relationship-building process with the China Christian Council (CCC) and the government, WEA official have said.

Over recent years China has experienced a surge in spiritual life which has seen Christianity expand significantly across the Asian economic powerhouse. However, religion remains a sensitive subject in the Communist-led country.

Building relations through open dialogue is the key goal of the mutual effort between Chinese officials and Christian organizations, Tunnicliffe said in a conversation with The Christian Post this week. more >>

Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest tower, opened to visitors today and it was expected to draw tens of thousands of people the first day.

The building, which is owned by the Tobu Railway Company, cost $1.8 billion and will not only be a transmission tower, but it will also include over 300 shops as well as an aquarium and planetarium.

"There are so many stores in one place, and it's easy to shop," Miho Yabe, a 24-year-old fitness-club employee, told Bloomberg.com. "I'll come back again when it's not as crowded." more >>

Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who escaped house arrest in China last month, made his way with his immediate family out of his country and arrived in Newark, N.J., Saturday evening after three weeks of high-level negotiations between Washington and Beijing.

Chen, who traveled with his wife and two children, landed at Newark-Liberty International Airport and headed straight to participate in a fellowship at New York University.

"For the past seven years, I have never had a day's rest so I have come here for a bit of recuperation for body and in spirit," ABC quoted Chen as saying. "I feel like everybody is very passionate," he said, adding that he came out "after much turbulence I have come out... thanks to the assistance of many friends." more >>

Christians in the Philippines are speaking out against upcoming concerts by Lady Gaga, arguing that the singer has a negative influence on young Filipinos because her attitude promotes "godlessness."

Catholic leaders are now calling on religious groups to boycott Gaga's upcoming concerts, which are part of her "Born This Way" tour in Manila, scheduled for Pasay City on May 21 and 22.

"Her attitude seems to promote godlessness, offensive to any religion," Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes, a member of the Permanent Council of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, told reporters, according to Philippine Daily Inquirer. more >>

World champion boxer Manny Pacquiao has denied ever referencing a Bible passage that says homosexuality is punishable by death after the erroneous attribution stirred a flurry of criticism and even had the boxer's sponsors worried.

"I told (the reporter) I'm against same-sex marriage," Pacquiao shared on Wednesday with The Associated Press. "He said, 'Why?' I said, 'It's the law of God.' That's all I said."

Responding to President Barack Obama's recent endorsement of same-sex marriage, Pacquiao made it clear that he defends the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman in an interview last week with Examiner.com. more >>